J. G. Brill Company
line in Sintra, Portugal in 2010.]] The J. G. Brill Company manufactured streetcars and buses in the United States. The company was founded by John George Brill in 1868 as a horsecar manufacturing firm in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, merged with the American Car and Foundry Company (ACF) in 1944 to become ACF-Brill and ceased production in 1954. Brill manufactured over 45,000 streetcars (also known in the U.S. as trolleys), buses, trolleybuses and railroad cars. At its height, it was the largest manufacturer of streetcars and interurbans in the U.S. It produced more streetcars and interurbans and gas electrics than any other manufacturer. History J. G. Brill began fledgling operations in 1868 and operated with the Brill name until 1956. In 1926, ACF Motors Company obtained a controlling interest in J. G. Brill. In 1944 the two companies merged, resulting in the ACF-Brill Motors Company.Sebree, Mac; and Ward, Paul (1973). Transit’s Stepchild: The Trolley Coach, p. 127. Los Angeles: Interurbans. LCCN 73-84356. On January 31, 1946, controlling interest in ACF-Brill was acquired by Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation for $7.5 million. Consolidated Vultee was sold on November 6, 1947, to the Nashville Corporation, which sold its share to investment firm Allen & Co headed by Charles Allen Jr on June 11, 1951. In early 1954, ACF-Brill ceased production and subcontracted remaining orders. The properties were sold, and on December 30, 1955, the company was merged with supermarket companies into ACF-Wrigley Stores Inc. ACF-Brill announced in 1944 that Canadian Car and Foundry of Montreal, Quebec were licensed to manufacture and sell throughout Canada buses and trolley coaches of their design as Canadian Car-Brill; the firm built about 1,100 trolley buses and a few thousand buses under the name. Products *Fageol/Brill Twin Coach 44S. *Birney safety car - by subsidiary, the American Car Company. *Traditional arch windowed all wood interurban cars. 1890-1920s. *Steel heavy interurban cars built 1920-1930s. The Brill "Center Door" car was typical of suburban trolleys and interurbans built around 1920. These tended to be large, heavy, double-end cars, with passengers entering and exiting via doors located at the center of the car. Many rebuilt into one man cars.Springirth,p86-100 *Brill "Master Unit," built 1930s. All steel, had standard controller stand, capable of 70 mph.p86-100 *Brilliner - Brill's competitor to the PCC (Presidents' Conference Car) looked somewhat like the first PCCs. The Brilliner was not successful when compared to the PCC. Underpowered. Few were sold whereas PCCs were well sold world wide. Twenty four built for Atlantic City's Miss America Fleet.p86-100 *Brill "Bullet" car. 1929-1932. For suburban/interurban use.p86-100 *C-36 city bus *IC-41 intercity bus *Peter Witt **Large cars with trailers **Small cars The unique Bullet cars The lines that operated interurban passenger cars recognized in the mid 1920s that they badly needed faster and more efficient equipment. Up to that time, both the wood and the steel interurban cars were very large, sat high, and were heavy. Car manufacturers such as Cincinnati Car Co., St. Louis Car Co., and Pullman worked to design equipment for a better ride at speed, improved passenger comfort, and lower power consumption. This included designing trucks to be able to handle rough track. Brill in conjunction with Westinghouse and General Electric worked on a new design. The result was the 1929 aluminum and steel wind tunnel developed slope roof Bullet cars, the first of which were purchased by the Philadelphia and Western Railroad, a third rail line running from 69th Street Upper Darby to Norristown in the Philadelphia region.4 This line still runs as SEPTA Route 100. These Bullets were successful and operated until the 1980s, but not many others were sold. Only central New York state interurban Fonda, Johnstown, and Gloversville ordered Bullets. Five were procured in mid-Depression 1932. In 1936, the abandoned FJ&G sold its Bullets to the Bamberger Railroad in Utah where they ran high speed service Salt Lake City to Ogden until the mid 1950s.2 The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) was a client of Brill's and purchased many buses and streetcars over the years. (See TTC Streetcar roster.) Brill produced many trackless trolleys for U.S. cities. Three of the SEPTA cars are now at the Seashore Trolley Museum. Clients *Philadelphia Rapid Transit Street car system. *Philadelphia and Western Railway Suburban interurban line. *Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company (Red Arrow Lines) Suburban interurban line. *Toronto Transportation Commission *Hamilton Street Railway *Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia Railway Pigeon Mountain Scooters 1922-1951 *Erie Railroad *South Australian RailwaysBrill Railcars of the South Australian Railways Bird, K Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, October;November;December, 1981 pp213-236;237-260;272-282 January, 1982 pp1-8 *Numerous U.S. interurban and street railway systems Companies The American Car & Foundry Co. controlled, as of January 26, 1926: *The Brill Corporation, which controlled:Brill (2001), p 165. *#American Car & Foundry Motors Co: owned Hall-Scott Motor Car Co (owned 100%) and Fageol Motors (Ohio) (controlled 90%) *#The J. G Brill Company, 62nd and Woodland Streets, Philadelphia. Absorbed and owned American Car Co. (not American Car and Foundry), Kuhlman Car Co. of Cleveland, Wason Mfg. Co. of Springfield, MA., Stephenson Car Co. of Elizabeth, NJ, Hall-Scott of San Francisco. In Europe, Cie. J. G. Brill of Gallardon, France, which was sold to Electroforge in 1935. Other companies that built licensed versions of Brill vehicles: *Canadian Car and Foundry - Peter Witt streetcars, trolley buses and motor buses Canadian railway car builder Preston Car Company was acquired in 1921 and operations were closed in 1923. References *1. Middleton. List of U.S. interurban car manufacturers, pp416–417. Bullet design, p68-70. *2. Volkmer. Photographs pf P&W Bullets and SEPTA Bullets. Brilliners, built 1932. *3. Hilton. Development of improved interurban car design.{eight pages] *4. Springirth. Development of Bullet design. *5. Bradford, Francis H. Hall-Scott: The Untold Story of a Great American Engine Maker Bibliography * The author of this book is a direct descendant of company founder John George Brill of the JG Brill Company of Philadelphia, manufacturer for many years of street cars, interurban cars, the famous "Bullet"cars, and busses. The largest (number produced) manufacturer of such equipment in the world. Over time, absorbed other manufacturers of interurban cars and street cars. * *Volkmer, Wm. D. Pennsylvania Trolleys in Color, Vol II, Philadelphia Region" 92pp. Morning Sun Books, Scotch Plains, NJ. 1998ISBN 1-878887-99-8. Photographs of Brilliners and Bullets and other Brill designs on Philadelphia and Westernline and in shops. *Hilton, George and Due, John ''The Interurban Electric Railway in America, Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA. Reissue 2000. *Springirth, Kenneth. Suburban Philadelphia Trolleys 128pp. Arcadia Publishing, 2007. (ISBN 9780738550435) External links *History of J. G. Brill Company * The J.G. Brill Company Records, including approximately 16,000 photographs, are available for research use at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. *Brill Bullet *Photos of Red Arrow Trolleys, including Brill cars *Iron Horse 1/29 Category:Defunct bus manufacturers Category:Rail vehicle manufacturers of the United States Category:Rail vehicle manufacturers of Canada Category:Streetcar builders Category:Trolleybus manufacturers Category:Defunct companies of the United States Category:Bus manufacturers of the United States Category:Companies of the United States